Creating an Interesting Essay About Fast Food Nation

Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation is always a great subject for an interesting writing assignment about the how the U.S. fast food industry influences local and global cultures. While this is the main subject, there are hundreds of topics one can write a fast food nation essay on. This article explains what it takes to create an interesting paper on any one:

Select an Original Topic You’d Like to Explore
After reading the book the first time, re-read it while actively making notes on the things that interested you the most. Highlight or underline passages. Write questions you would like to have answered? Transfer your notes to a journal and narrow down your specific topic to something that you’d like to explore further. Make sure it’s original and manageable.

Brainstorm Your Chosen Fast Food Essay Topic
Now, brainstorm your topic even further by reviewing the book a third time and making notes for any relevant material that either supports or contradicts your initial thoughts. This will help you develop a good hypothesis that is both arguable and precise. Don’t make the assignment harder than it absolutely has to be. Just work on meeting the requirements of the assignment prompt.

Create an Assignment Outline to Guide Writing
Next, create an outline for your essay about fast food. An outline is an important writing tool that helps keep your thoughts and ideas focused and on track. It also helps you to create a logically ordered argument for defending your hypothesis. Create a separate discussion point for each of your sub-topics and arrange them in an order that will make the most sense to the reader. Reorder as necessary before you begin writing.

Write the First Rough Draft Quickly and Efficiently
And now for the hard part – getting your first draft going. Many students wait to start composing their first draft until the last minute, and for obvious reasons, often fail to create a good assignment. Do not think too hard about needing to find the right words at this point of the assignment. The most important thing is that you get your thoughts down, so just sit and start typing away. Don’t look at the clock or stop to make corrections. This will only slow your momentum and work against the flow of ideas.

Set Your Paper Aside Before You Make Revisions
Before you start your revisions set your paper aside for at least a few hours (if you started late) or a few days (if you distributed the work efficiently). This is important because it allows you to review content with a critical eye, thus improving your chances of fixing your argument by removing, adding, or rearranging content.

Edit and Proofread the Final Version of the Paper
Finally, set your paper aside again before making your edits and proofreading for mistakes. When you edit you are actively trying to fix your sentences so that they are clear and concise, and you are looking for better word choices. Lastly, proofread at three levels – the paper, the paragraph, and the sentence – for more effective corrections.